MEXICO:  José Luis Solorio Alcalá, General Secretary of the National Trade Union of Honda Workers (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Honda de México, STUHM), was arrested on March 1 in El Salto, Jalisco, simply for fighting for a collective agreement between workers and their employer. A few hours earlier, the company’s security guards insulted and assaulted workers who were leafleting outside the factory. In May 2010, a large number of company employees founded STUHM in order to try and deal with a series of irregularities, arbitrary actions and abuses against their labour rights.

Meanwhile, members of the Electrical Workers’ Union (Sindicato de Electricistas de México, SME) held a sit-in in front of the Federal Electricity Commission offices on March 8, which was repressed by the federal police with excessive use of force. The workers were demanding the reinstatement of 16,599 union members, who have not accepted their dismissals, and the release of 12 colleagues held as political prisoners. The repression resulted in the arrest of 12 leaders (retired and still employed) and several members of the public were also arrested for showing their solidarity with the SME. They were released after 20 hours in detention.

The electrical workers condemned the federal police action, which "demonstrates the Calderon government’s inability and intransigence when dealing with a social conflict that the government itself provoked through the arbitrary closure of the company that employed us”.

As with the Miners’ Union, the SME is asking the National Human Rights Commission to take preventive measures against the increase in federal government repression and the persecution of its activists and leaders.

The IMF condemns all acts of repression against those defending labour and trade union rights. The General Secretary of the Mexican National Miner’s Union, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, expressed his solidarity with Mexico’s independent trade union movement, saying there was no doubt that these events reflect a hardening in the Mexican government’s anti-trade union policy (see separate article in Spanish).

The commission was organised as part of the NUMSA NEC so that union leaders could take time to review the triple crisis of unemployment, poverty and inequality and consider what needs to be done to ensure that working class interests are served by state policies and actions. Once it got started, there was no holding back and a great deal came under scrutiny, from self reflection on the state of political consciousness within the unions to party leadership, political divisions and the formation of camps ahead of the ANC congress in December this year.

 President Zuma spoke of himself as a worker and said he owed everything that he had become to the unions. "No matter what you do with me, I remain a worker… Until the end of time at the centre of me will be working class feelings". He talked of the relationship between workers and the ANC and paid tribute to the role that workers had played throughout the party’s history. He spoke of the political consciousness of workers being a driving force in the ANC.

President Zuma told delegates that union leaders need to get more involved in the ANC. He claimed that the movement’s "biggest shortcoming" was that the leaders of the bigger unions are not on the ANC’s national executive committee saying, "How can you not be at the centre of things, where national decisions are made?" In 2007, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi turned down his nomination for a position on the NEC and it can be argued that by doing so, he has retained political strength, enabling the labour leader to remain critical of national decisions and party progress.

Comrade Vavi spoke openly at the meeting about the challenges negotiating the political environment within the Alliance ahead of the numerous congresses at union, federation and party level this year, which will elect leadership. "It’s difficult to have an open and honest discussion, any statement is interpreted in line with the prevailing political environment… there’s an intolerance of different views… comrades are even carrying knives against one another", said Comrade Vavi. He painted a picture of an intimidating environment, "There’s a big drive to keep everyone quiet. You are either with us or against us… if you’re against us we’re smashing you".

Unionists were critical of the poor performance of the ANC on important issues such as labour brokering.Comments about the current ANC NEC made by Karl Cloete, Deputy General Secretary of NUMSA, ruffled feathers and the media has had a good time sensationalising this.

But for NUMSA the crux of the issue is the need for greater worker participation in the ANC. The union wants workers to work within the structures of the ANC to ensure that those elected to lead the party will serve the interests of the working class. NUMSA also called on workers to swell the ranks of the SACP, saying this is an important political insurance of working class emancipation and believes that the SACP must be at the centre of leading popular struggles of the working class for working class power.

The Political Commission was about much more than party politics. The forum was put in place to debate reforms needed for transforming the economy and society to benefit the majority of South Africans. NUMSA believes that "the wealth of the country must be transferred into the hands of the people as a whole, as a precondition for the attainment of genuine democracy and durable peace in our country," said Irvin Jim, General Secretary of NUMSA. "To this end, we still believe that there is no alternative to a popular, not elite, nationalisation, for socialisation of the strategic economic sectors. As we move in that direction, we also affirm that South Africa requires a truly new and revolutionary, redistributive, job-led growth path."

NUMSA criticised the State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech as, "rather disappointing insofar as major changes in the economy are required: we note in so many ways that our government appears to be amplifying all the most destructive tendencies of our apartheid capitalist economy and society," said Comrade Jim. "We see very little in the infrastructure-centric growth strategy to give us confidence, because the spending anticipated is pro-corporate, too capital-intensive, too import-reliant, too extractive-oriented, too vulnerable to volatile world markets, and too ecologically damaging."

Comrade Jim referred to the Freedom Charter several times, calling for a return to the Charter to find the way forward on many pressing issues that the country faces.

Despite all the speculation on why NUMSA held the Political Commission, what it represented in the overall political arena of the Alliance, why political leadership participated, what was said, what was meant by what was said and so on, this unique event reclaimed political space for the working class and took a step towards rebuilding political consciousness amongst unionists. 

AUSTRALIA: Dave Oliver, National Secretary of the IMF-affiliated Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), announced on March 8 his decision to nominate for the position of Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).

Enjoying broad support for his nomination from the union movement, Oliver is expected to take the position at the ACTU Congress in May, when current ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence will retire.

Seeking to make ACTU a community-backed, high-profile campaigning organization, Oliver’s first task will be to ensure ACTU and the Australian union movement is ready to campaign on job security and workers’ right in the lead up to the federal election in 2013.

Oliver has indicated that one of his priorities remains the growing threat to jobs and the economy, particularly in those sectors impacted by the mining boom and the high Australian dollar, not only in manufacturing but in finance, tourism and the service sector.

In an open letter to AMWU members, Oliver writes, "To my friends and comrades in the AMWU – past and present – I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve our union over the past 24 years and if successful I look forward to working with you for many years to come in my new capacity."

USA/GLOBAL: The Umicore Autocat USA Inc. plant in Tulsa was taken over from Delphi in 2007 and is organized by the IMF-affiliated International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) through Local 286. Geographically close to major auto-makers, the plant produces catalysts that are used in automotive emission abatement systems for both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.

Along with the Umicore Monitoring Committee members, Ignace De Ruijter, Senior Vice President of Human Resources; Guy Ethier, Senior Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety; Mark Dolfyn, Director of Corporate Human Resource; Kemal Özkan, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, representing IMF as well; Peter Kamm, Umicore’s European Works Council and member of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, the visit was joined by local company managers and UAW local representatives.

The Monitoring Committee followed the same pattern of working as in the previous three such missions in China, Brazil and South Africa. A wide range of information on employment, training & education, health & safety, environmental issues, social policies & working conditions, social dialogue and relations with the local community was delivered and discussed at the visit. As it supplies to major auto-producers, the plant suffered severely during the crisis period in 2008 with a substantial decline in employment levels. However with recovery in the US auto industry in 2009, Umicore’s Tulsa plant has started to improve its business by creating more employment, but still being far below the level of the pre-crisis period. The local management and union representatives explained to the Monitoring Committee how the crisis period was handled through the industrial relations system at the plant. It was further reported that at the collective bargaining negotiations in 2009, a more institutionalized procedure for conducting such periods was defined and agreed.

Özkan and Kamm, together with UAW local shop stewards, James Cyr, Bargaining Chair; Warren McKinley, Co-Chair; Lance Boyd, Representative; and Curtis Storey, Representative met in a separate union meeting to exchange information and discuss the labour situation at the plant. The union meeting examined current working conditions, the collective agreement and social dialogue at the plant, which was followed by a briefing on the nature and content of the global framework agreement. It was agreed that continuous communication would be continued between the UAW local union and the European Works Council.

In evaluating the visit, the parties jointly committed to quality labour relations and social dialogue at the plant. Particular attention and appreciation was expressed for the high quality of health and safety practices conducted by joint union-management health and safety committee at the workplace. The Monitoring Committee will finalize its report at its meeting scheduled for the end of May.

Umicore is a global materials technology group focusing on four business areas, namely Catalysis, Energy Materials, Performance Materials, and Recycling. The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base; it generated a turnover of €14.5 billion (€2.3 billion excluding metal) in 2011 and currently employs some 14,600 people.

MALAYSIA: Unions and workers in Malaysia have secured a partial victory in their struggle against the legalization of labour contractors introduced in amendments to the Employment Act 1955 late last year.

The Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Dr. Subramaniam announced on March 7 that the recently introduced amendments legalizing labour contractors would now only apply to the plantation sector and all other sectors would be exempted.

The amendment to the Act was introduced late last year despite strong opposition from the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the labour movement, including IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina who wrote to the Malaysian government in November 2011 expressing serious concerns over the legalizing of the contract labour system.

Khalid Atan, MTUC President, said that the Minister’s March 7 announcement on exempting all sectors except the plantation sector would be studied. As the amended law stands, it would have serious implications on permanent jobs and undermine trade union growth, he added.

Gopal Kishnam General Secretary of IMF affiliate the National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Industries Workers stressed that the MTUC would continue to demand the full withdrawal of legalized contract labour. He concurred with Khalid that this law would still have far reaching implications on workers and unions. As long as the law is still in force, employers would have a legal basis to engage labour contractors, he said.

GLOBAL: A new report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reveals that worldwide, women are paid 18 per cent on average less than their male counterparts at work. The report also found that women workers in manufacturing have on average the fourth largest gender pay gap, combined with a rather low relative wage level (10th of 15
industries).

The report, "Frozen in time: Gender pay gap unchanged for 10 years" released on the eve of International Women’s Day, looks at women’s wages in 43 countries, twice the number of previous studies.

"For the last decade we have seen women’s wages hitting a road block. The pay gap remains frozen in time almost everywhere. Asia is the continent with the greatest wage differential between men and women with no progress made to close the gap for over a decade," said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.

For the first time, researchers have ranked industries internationally by analysing the differences in wages in 15 sectors in 15 countries across four continents from construction to domestic workers.

"More unionized sectors such as the public sector tend to have lower pay gaps. Those with low unionization rates and low wage levels, such as retail, hotels and restaurants as well as agriculture tend to have higher gaps. Part of the problem is that many workers are not paid a decent minimum wage," said Sharan Burrow.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary said, "One of the main reasons we argue for improved representation of women in trade union structures is to ensure that unions in address issues that women face in the workplace, such as the gender pay gap. The results of this study clearly show that trade unions in the manufacturing sectors must look more closely at this issue and address this differential through our collective bargaining strategies."

The report is the third study into the gender wage gap by the ITUC, following up on studies in 2008 and 2009. The report ‘Frozen in Time: Gender pay gap unchanged for 10 years" can be read here:  http://www.ituc-csi.org/frozen-in-time-gender-pay-gap.html

SOUTH AFRICA: A general strike against e-tolling and labour brokers organised by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) on March 7, 2012 was a resounding success.

Addressing tens of thousands of people that gathered in Johannesburg, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the protest was not a march, but "an occupation of the city of Johannesburg by the workers". South African unions are resolved to bring an end to the use of labour brokers. "This is a class battle. This is a class war. Labour brokers do not create jobs – they destroy the agenda of decent work," said Vavi.

General Secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), Irvin Jim addressed thousands of strikers in East London in the Eastern Cape. "Decent work is a right. Labour brokering is just like slavery and is causing major problems for the working class," Jim said, "They are taking up jobs from us and I am raising my finger at them. We must take a firm stand and see them banned for good."

The strike was also organized to protest e-tolling, a toll road system that is being implemented in Gauteng province in April this year which Vavi called "a new apartheid" as the increased cost to travel would restrict people’s movement, especially the poor working class.

Vavi warned that labour was prepared to take action again on the issue. "If they say they will go ahead with the tolling, we will take all the people here, and more, and put them on the highways of Joburg," he said. "If they insist we pay for public roads then, just as we made the apartheid system unworkable, we will make this system unworkable."

The protest against labour brokers and e-tolling had wide popular support and many civil society groups and ordinary South Africans spoke out in support of the strike.

GLOBAL/CANADA: Affiliates of the International Metal Workers Federation, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Unions, and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation pledged global support for 780 locked-out Rio Tinto workers, represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) in Alma, Quebec.

At its joint Executive Committee meeting held in Geneva on February 29, members of the three global union federations, which will form a new organization in June, called for an international campaign to address the company’s global attacks on workers and conditions.

"It appears that what is happening in Alma is part of a longer range strategy by Rio Tinto to launch an assault on union members globally both at smelters and at mines," stated the resolution, passed unanimously by executive committee members of the three organizations. "Recording profits of $14.2 billion in 2010 and $5.8 billion in 2011, the vicious attack on union workers in Alma and other workers throughout the world heralds a major escalation of Rio Tinto’s anti-union practices."

The IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF resolved to mobilize union members at Rio Tinto facilities throughout the world and expose Rio Tinto’s unsustainable economic, social and environmental practices.

The lockout, which began on December 31, 2011, is a result of USW members’ refusal accept the company’s demand to dramatically increase the number of contract workers, who earn approximately one-half the wages of permanent workers and no benefits.

Around the world, unions report that the company is forcing workers to accept unfair and unnecessary wage cuts and concessions or face plant closure.

INDIA: Trade unions representing over one million members today agreed to create a new alliance that will set a benchmark throughout the industrial world’s workforce. The alliance will seek to partner with industry and government to build the skills necessary to underpin a green economy. Also addressing climate change issues and the need to tackle the many challenges that India will face, as it continues to become an economic powerhouse. 

The Alliance calls on the Indian Government to encourage partnerships by investing in capacity building and developing new tools that will set the global standard and tools that are innovative and recognize the need for partners to work together on these issues.

One such tool would be the creation of a national skills observatory that would look at the future needs of industry and work on a comprehensive program to develop those skills. One key role of the observatory would also be to look at best practices throughout the world to provide India with a competitive advantage.

In a recent working paper the World Bank said "Skill shortages remain one of the major constraints to growth in the Indian economy".

Rob Johnston Executive Director at the International Metalworkers’ Federation commented at the launch, "The creation of this Alliance means that the Indian Trade Unions are shaping the policy debate. This initiative sets out a vision of a modern dynamic India, the question is if Government and Industry share it."

India has a modern and dynamic trade union movement that can play a vital role in encouraging workers to up-skill and undertake lifelong learning. The Alliance believes that it must do more to promote this role and to establish the unions as a leading advocate on climate change issues.

The role of workers will be integral to the development of a greener economy. Highly skilled jobs will demand a highly skilled workforce. Trade unions can play a unique role in bridging the gap between current skills and those needed in the future.  Unions have extensive experience in responding to skill gaps. A proportion of participants in union learning programs lack formal qualifications and, for many, trade union education is the first formal experience of learning since leaving education.

Sudharshan Rao Regional Director International Metalworkers’ Federation stated, "In many States the union movement has already played an important role as a link between industry and government and workers. We are offering the opportunity to develop a national strategic partnership to benefit all of India".

INDIA: Sarralle India, a subsidiary of Sarralle Equipos of Spain is one of the largest designers of steel plant equipment, which established its unit in India in 2008. Later it entered into a joint venture with Talleres Jaso Industrial and formed Jaso Sarralle Cranes India.

Workers of Sarralle India formed the union Sarralle Equipment India Pvt Ltd Workmen Union (Regd.No 26158) in August 2011. Workers allege that the company do not respect the workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively. The company run its plant with contract workers for many years and they are even deprived of the minimum wages declared by the government. Since the formation of the union, the company started outsourcing jobs that are of regular nature to outside agencies.

The union protested the unfair action and demanded the management to follow due process of law and not to take any unilateral step. As the company intensified outsourcing, on February 7, 2012 the union raised an industrial dispute before the labour commissioner and submitted the charter of demands. In a move to pressurize workers, on the same day the management issued a notice that they do not require the services of 18 workmen due to shortage of order.

Against this anti-worker strategy of the management, all workers went on a spontaneous sit-in strike from February 8. While, industrial dispute has been raised by the union and the labour commissioner called for the tripartite meeting on February 16, the Sarralle management’s action to refuse the services of 18 workmen is a violation of Industrial Dispute Act 1947, says Bappi Halder, general secretary of the union.

Immediate demands of the union are:

• Sarralle management should re-instate all the 18 workmen immediately,
• Management shall withdraw the illegal act of putting the permanent workmen on compulsory leave,
• Management shall give the specific assurance of settlement of pending charter of demands, and
• Management shall regularise services of all contract workmen.